Monday, May 18, 2009

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, cycle 26 pages 135-150

Christopher decides to follow through with his plans. He is going to runaway to live with his mother. To do this, he breaks into his own house while his father is out looking for him. He gathers food and spots his father’s wallet. He takes his credit cards and leaves to find the train station. He first runs to his school to find Siobhan. Something catches his eye when he arrives at the school, his father’s van. He quickly runs away from the school and asks a stranger for direction. Christopher doesn’t trust anyone but his friends and family. He finds the train station but finds himself lost. He doesn't know what to do. So he quietly sits down on a bench to think. 2 hours later, a policeman approaches him. Christopher is afraid that he will find out that he is running away and will take him home. He talks his way out of being escorted home and instead is escorted to a cash machine. He then withdraws money for a ticket to London.
Snooker is a variety of pool played with 15 red balls and 6 balls of colors other than red, in which a player must shoot one of the red balls, each with a point value of 1, into a pocket before shooting at one of the other balls, with point values of from 2 to 7.
Through my personal experiences I can relate to the reading. Christopher is just trying to find him self a home and himself. He is lost and doesn't know really what is going on in his life. His parents have their share of problems that have lead to the confusion such as lying and leaving him without saying anything. This books theme is about Christopher finding him self, understanding his life, and figuring out why it’s the way it is. My parents do things I don't understand. They leave me confused and dumbfounded. Sometimes I feel that the only option is to runaway. So I kind of understand and can connect to the reading. Anyone can relate to this because you always have to find your self in life.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, cycle 25 pages 120-135

Christopher is still confused by his father’s confession. He is wondering why would he kill Wellington? At first, Christopher thinks it's a joke, but as his father explains he realizes it’s not. The reason why Christopher’s father killed Wellington was out frustration. When his wife left, Mrs. Shears became a big part of their life. She began spending lots of time with them. Christopher’s father thought that they would move in together, even get married. She didn’t feel the same way. Upset with her decision, Christopher’s father believes that she loves Wellington more than him. As he sees the dog on the lawn after the conversation, he takes the pitchfork and murders the dog. After learning all of this, Christopher is frightened by his father. He thinks that it is unsafe to live with him and wants to runaway, but where to? The only place he thinks that is suitable is to go to London to live with his mother. First, needs to find a place for his rat, Toby to live. He goes to Mrs. Alexander to give over Toby. She tries to explain that this was all a big misunderstanding.
Planisphere is a map of half or more of the celestial sphere with a device for indicating the part of a given location visible at a given time. Parabola is a plane curve formed by the intersection of a right circular cone with a plane parallel to a generator of the cone; the set of points in a plane that are equidistant from a fixed line and a fixed point in the same plane or in a parallel plane.
There are a few things that frustrate me with this book one of them is why would Christopher’s father lie to him about major topics such as his mother and Wellington? His father complete cuts Christopher off from his mother and tells him that she’s dead. His father should explain what is going instead of lying and getting himself into this mess. Now Christopher doesn’t trust him and is terrified of staying with him. Another reason why I think he shielded all this information from him was because of the fact that Christopher has a disability and he would not be able to cope. In the end, the father has made choices in the book that have made me frustrated whether it is lying or murdering.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, cycle 24 pages 105-120

In these 15 pages, Christopher continues to read the series of letters his mother has sent him. His father hid these letters to shield the truth about his mother. One of the letters contained the truth on why she left in the first place. She would have constant fights with his father because she couldn't cope with Christopher’s problem. The only person she felt that could help her was Roger, Mr. Shears. This relationship grew stronger as Mr. Shears grew apart from Mrs. Shears. Mr. Shears had a proposal, that they leave for London where they would be able to start a new life. Since Mr. Shears and Christopher’s mother fell in love, she decided that it would be better if she left. While reading these letters Christopher’s father walks in and freaks out. Christopher expecting a melt down receives a flood of apologies. He explains to him that he was going to tell him later and that it was a mistake, he just didn't want to complicate his life with more troubles. These apologies lead to a shocking confession. Christopher’s father was the one who killed Wellington.
Tether is a rope, chain, or the like, by which an animal is fastened to a fixed object so as to limit its range of movement. Saccades are the act of checking a horse quickly with a single strong pull of the reins.
Diary of Christopher:
I have recently found that my mother is alive. She didn’t really die of a heart attack. My father has masked a lot from me, including that she had moved to London with Mr. Shears. Why would he hide all this from me? I know he didn’t want to confuse me, but it would have been nice to know. Some how I feel that my father should have told me. Another thing is I can’t believe he actually killed Wellington. Why did he do it? What was his motive? Why did he yell at me for sneaking around and investigating if he knew I would continue? He should have just told me all of this saving us loads of trouble.

Monday, May 11, 2009

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, cycle 23 pages 90-105

Christopher’s curiosity does not subside in these 15 pages. He is still wondering where his book is and if his father really threw it away. Hunting for his book, he searches all the trash bins and rooms. He tries to avoid his father’s room because he was told not to mess with any of his father’s things, but the urge of finding his book was too much. Carefully going throw all the cabinets, boxes, and clothes, he finds the book hidden away in a box. To his surprise, he found more than his clue book, but letters written to him. These letters were a mystery to him because he had never seen them or told anything about them from his father. He decides to take one of the many letters to read who they’re from. A shocking letter was revealed, a message from his mother. All of this time Christopher thought she had died or at least that is what his father told him. These letters obviously prove that false.
Heron is any of numerous long-legged, long-necked, usually long-billed birds of the family Ardeidae, including the true herons, egrets, night herons, and bitterns.
In this book, Christopher is really trying to search for his own identity. It is very evident to us because he is curious about his life and the many questions surrounding it. He is confused about who he is and what his life is about. The detective work he carries on is the curiosity being expressed by his nature of finding out what really happened to his mother and the dog, Wellington. His father is not help his cause by masking the truth and telling lies to his son. This just continues to bring more questions and mystery to Christopher’s life.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, cycle 22 pages 75-90

In this section of the book, Christopher finds himself not damaged from the news that his mother had an affair with Mr. Shears. He begins to write his book about his investigation. The inspiration he gains from reading Sherlock Holmes, he uses to fuel his writing. One day his father comes home to find Christopher’s book unattended. He reads to learn that Christopher has disobeyed his wishes. He confronts Christopher, but Christopher is confused because he thought he wasn’t breaking any of his father’s guidelines. Punishing Christopher and out of anger, his father slams him against the wall, causing minor injuries. Christopher was more confused than upset by his father’s actions. After all of the chaos, Christopher discovers his book in the trash. The next day, his father apologizes and takes Christopher to the zoo.
Jaundice is “also called icterus. Pathology. yellow discoloration of the skin, whites of the eyes, etc., due to an increase of bile pigments in the blood, often symptomatic of certain diseases, as hepatitis.” Hemorrhage is a profuse discharge of blood, as from a ruptured blood vessel; bleeding. Nephritis is inflammation of the kidneys, esp. in Bright's disease.
Why does Christopher not have an open mind about things?
I believe that this is because Christopher’s mental disability makes him somewhat of a computer. He refers to his mind like a video recorder because he can recall memories unlike anyone else. He uses these memories to help him judge how to handle everyday activities.
Why doesn’t Christopher’s father confront Mr. Shears about the affair with his wife?
I believe this is because he doesn’t want Christopher to get further confused. He shields Christopher from this early on so that it doesn’t taint Christopher’s view on his mother. Since she is dead now, Christopher doesn’t care because he believes the dead are dead, and their thought doesn’t matter.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, cycle 21 pages 60-75

Christopher has recently found out about his mother’s affair with Mr. Shears. He has finally found why his father hates Mr. Shears so much. Mrs. Alexander has informed him about the news. She does not want Christopher to tell his father of his knowledge fearing that it will complicate things. Even with Mrs. Alexander informing him, Christopher still feels that she is a stranger, so he is unable to speak with her for long. Mrs. Alexander expresses that she only wants to be friends, but Christopher leaves without saying a word goodbye. Sinobin, Christopher’s personal teacher, confronts Christopher about the situation. She asks him if he is sad or felt any type of emotion. Knowing Christopher, this does not bother him because of his confusion to figure out feelings. He feels that since his mother is dead and Mr. Shears is gone, that no one should worry about the situation.
There was no vocabulary that needed defining.
The six traits in this passage are thoroughly worked on, especially word choice. The ideas in this passage have many underlying thoughts that help the book along. An example would be the paragraph on why Christopher likes math. He likes math because he believes that it is safe and very different from life. Math also has straightforward answers unlike his life. The word choice in the passage was also very good. The adjectives were descriptive and illustrated good images. An example would be “white clouds which looked like fish scales”

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, cycle 20 pages 45-60

Christopher is a smart boy, even though he is at school for special needs. He is excelling in math and is the first person ever in his school to receive the privilege to attend A level math. He is also not perfect, he has he share of behavior problems, which includes not talking to people for a long time. His parents do their best to cope with this problem, but sometimes it is too much. They often fought about Christopher. Christopher believed they were going to get a divorce before his mother died.
Christopher arrives home to find his father at the dinner table. He confronts him about him sneaking around in Mrs. Shears’ garden. He is upset because he already told him to bother people with their business. He makes a promise that he will quit this nonsense, but it will be broken.
Christopher sees Mrs. Alexander at the store. She tries to strike up a conversation, but since he believes she is a stranger he doesn't reply to some of the questions, until he asks her about Mr. Shears. She tells him that the reason for his father’s hate for Mr. Shears is involved with his mother. It is because Christopher’s mother and Mr. Shears were having an affair.
There were no words that needed defining in this section of reading.
INTERVIEW:
What do you think is important about the matter of Wellington?
Christopher: I believe that the dog is important to me. Although it wasn’t mind I feel like I have a close bond to it. I like dogs, finding out what happened to Wellington not only is sparking my curiosity but changing my habits and personality.
Why did you break your father’s promise of not investigating?
Christopher: I don’t think my father knows what I like to pursuit. This mystery is bugging me and I need to find out what happened, if I don't I will be wondering for the rest of my life. I should be able to do what ever I want and make my own decisions
What was your feeling when Mrs. Alexander told you why your father hates Mr. Shears?
Christopher: I felt like it was a surprise. I would never have thought my own mother would betray my father like that. I didn’t expect it at all. At first I thought Mr. Shears had hurt my mother, but now to find it was way different. I’m just in shock. My fire is only fueled by this and will only continue until I find more about Mr. Shears.

Monday, March 9, 2009

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, cycle 19 pages 30-45

Christopher completely ignores his father’s wishes. He is still bothered greatly about Wellington, the supposedly murdered dog. He walks over to Mrs. Shear’s house to pay her a visit. He apologize to her for all the trouble he caused, but still confesses that he did not kill her dog and the real murderer will be brought in. She did not take a liking to this and shut the door in his face. Christopher’s curiosity over takes him. He quietly trespasses into her backyard to search her tool shed. He finds the pitchfork, clean with no blood. He infers that a stranger to him did it because he knew no one who hated Mrs. Shears or Wellington. He questions everyone in the neighborhood, but finds no new evidence. Then he comes to a conclusion, Mr. Shears, Mrs. Shears’s ex-husband. He was the only one that would truly want to cause trouble with Mrs. Shears. That is when Mr. Shears became the prime suspect.
Marzipan is a confection made of almonds reduced to a paste with sugar and often molded into various forms, usually diminutive fruits and vegetables. Cutleries are utensils, as knives, forks, and spoons, used at the table for serving and eating food.
One thing that frustrates me about this book is that no one really cares about Christopher except certain people. If he is challenged by a disability then why doesn’t he have more help then he does now. Siobhan and his father are the only people who seem to help understand life and people. Another thing that is upsetting is that his father hindered Christopher’s relationship with his mother. He did not allow him to see her in the hospital when she was facing emanate death. He also did not let him go to her funeral to see her for one last time.

Friday, February 27, 2009

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, cycle 18 pages 15-30

Christopher finds himself stuck in a jail cell for his violent reaction towards the police officer. Other than that action, they now are pinning the murder of the poodle on Chris. The officers interrogate him for information assuming that he knows what happened on Mrs. Shears’ lawn. There is another characteristic of Christopher, he can’t tell a lie. This is because lies confuse him when he thinks about different scenarios. He also believes that if lies are told something terrible might happen like death.
They let him off with a warning giving him no room to get into another mess like this again otherwise the consequences will be worse. Christopher is still upset about the murder of the poor dog. He thinks that the perpetrator should be caught and punished. His plan is to investigate and clear his name once and for all. This would go against his father’s wishes for him to stay out of trouble.
One day Christopher returns home from school to find that his mother isn’t there as usual to open the door. He searches the house to find no one. His father calls everyone to find his wife. They are soon to find that she is in the hospital with a heart condition. She dies within two weeks. Christopher’s curious attitude made him ponder the different types of heart attacks that could have killed her and how she could have died at such a young age.
Apocryphal is an adjective, which means of doubtful authorship or authenticity. Embolism is a noun, which means the occlusion of a blood vessel by an embolus.
Why is Christopher so observant of his surroundings? I believe he is like this because he can't help be notice every little detail. He thinks that if he doesn’t express his feelings about his surroundings it would be bottled up in his mind and further mix his thoughts making his life more confusing. I also think that he likes doing this because it helps him understand what he is dealing with and how it is going to affect him. Why does Christopher’s dad not allow him to see his mom in the hospital? I would think that the dad would let him see his mom because Christopher likes the feeling of hospitals and it would take his mind off of finding the murderer of the dog. I think that he didn't let him go because he didn't want Christopher’s image of his mother to be tainted by death since he knew that she was going to die. Why does Christopher think that a number of red cars in order mean a good day? This is another thing that he is very observant about and that many people wouldn’t care or notice. He thinks red cars mean good luck because he likes things to be in order and that things happen by chance.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, cycle 17 pages 1-15

Christopher John Francis Boone is a unique boy. He knows all the countries of the world and all of their capitals. He also knows all the prime numbers up to 7,057, but in all of his knowledge he doesn't understand human emotion well. Christopher has stumbled upon a strange sight. In the garden of his neighbor, Mrs. Shears he finds a lifeless poodle with a pitchfork stabbed through its body. Christopher is overwhelmed with curiosity and decides to check out the dog. He removes the fork and holds the oversized poodle in his hands. He ponders his thoughts and thinks who could have done this. Mrs. Shears finds the dog in his hands and is enraged. The cops arrive and try to squeeze evidence out of him. He is immediately put on the spot for murder. Christopher plants his face in the grass, while the officers grab him to take him to the station. He doesn't like to be touched so he lifts his arm, striking the cop. The passage ends with Christopher observing his new surroundings, which is a cramp jail cell.
The meaning of Cardinal is of prime importance; chief; principal. The meaning of stimulus is something that incites to action or exertion or quickens action, feeling, thought, etc.
Christopher as I said is unique in his thoughts, emotions, and actions. This passage had revealed many traits about Christopher. It set the tone of what he is now in the book and what he will become. He dislikes and likes many things. These things include the disliking of being touched. He is also very observant of his surroundings. He notices the cold and wet grass or the small jail cell. The underlying factors are that he is a curious boy that has many questions left unanswered. His patterns follow that there is lots of grey areas about his life and it just keeps piling on with the case of the dead dog.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini #9 120-135

At the beginning of these 15 pages, Amir and Baba are now living in a basement far from their mansion in Kabul. Baba finally finds the truth about Hassan and Assef when Kamal’s father tells him the story of the alley. There seems to be little chance of leaving until Karim offers them an escape. All of the refugees must escape in a fuel truck. The truck’s tank is filled with fumes and cramped. Everyone, including Amir is gasping for air waiting to get out. When they finally arrive in Pakistan, Amir exits the tank breathing heavily and collapses on the side of the road. Screams grab Amir’s attention. Baba and Amir push through the crowd of people to find Kamal lifeless in the arms of his father. The fumes of the gasoline were too much for Kamal. This drives his father crazy. He takes the gun from Karim and takes his life. Later on in the passage, we find Baba and Amir living in America. Baba is having a hard time adjusting to the differences of America; He believes no one has trust in America. The section ends with Amir graduating from high school at the age of twenty. Baba tells Amir that he is proud of him.
Amir’s traits and personality has changed throughout the book. In the beginning, he would not stand up for him self in many situations and was less assertive. He is now in America and changed. Since Baba does not really fit in, Amir takes responsibility for Baba’s actions like acting up in the grocery store. The changes that America has brought made Baba proud of Amir. The patterns of Amir’s behavior show that he is still growing as a character in the book.
I needed to define a few words in this passage. Summation means the review or recapitulation of previously stated facts or statements, often with a final conclusion or conclusions drawn from them. The definition of calloused means having calluses; toughened. Cretin means a stupid, obtuse, or mentally defective person.

Monday, January 5, 2009

The Catcher in the Rye Final Paper, Holden is an Outcast

Holden is an Outcast
Holden doesn’t fit in with anyone and is a loner. Why is this? This is because he has a hard time acting his age, he does not act like a kid but he has a hard time acting like an adult, he sees most people as phony, and doesn’t care about his own life.
In The Catcher In the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, Holden is made out to be a confused boy, lost in life with no purpose. He has gotten kicked out of numerous prep schools. He is a bright boy that thinks he has no purpose in life, which has left him depressed and lonely. Holden is a loner and an outcast because he acts mature for his age but older adults don’t give in. He describes most people as phony, and he has a bad attitude towards life.
Holden is only 16, but he acts much older than he is because Holden is lost and confused. He finds no one to fit in with his own age and searches for different groups to fit in with. He tries to fit in with older groups of people but fails to because of his young appearance. This is apparent in many parts of the book. It is not more evident to us when he offers multiple people to go and get a cocktail. The first occurrence was when he meets Ernest’s mom on the train.
“Would you care for a cocktail?” I asked her. I was feeling in the mood for one myself. “We can go in the club car. All right?” “Dear, are you allowed to order drinks?” she asked me. “ (Salinger 57)
Holden asks multiple people to grab a cocktail with him because he is depressed and alone so he feels that drinking with other people will wash his problems away. This happens many more times including various cab drivers and while with random women. Holden always seems to be interested in getting a cocktail with someone else so he doesn’t feel lonely. He also can get away from his school troubles and peers by drinking and smoking.

Not only this, but his encounter in the elevator with Maurice stirred up some obvious desperation for company. Hiring a prostitute for his pleasure is seen as shocking because prostitutes are known for middle-aged men who have not found love, which is hardly the case for a sixteen-year old boy. Holden not only acts like an adult but he also is very immature at points in the book. This shifting behavior is another reason Holden has trouble fitting in with anyone. Holden also tries to separate him self from his peers. It seems that he prefers the life of an outcast.
“Anyway, it was the Saturday of the football game with Saxon Hall. The game with Saxon Hall was supposed to be a very big deal around Pencey. It was the last game of the year, and you were supposed to commit suicide or something if old Pencey didn’t win.”
(Salinger 2)
At this point, Holden shows little interest in many things that are social events. Instead of sitting down at the field with all of his classmates to watch the game, he chose to watch it up on Thomsen Hill by himself. Holden acts immature at points and attempts to act mature because he is just trying to find a way in life.



Phony people to Holden are people who do not act like who they are. This hinders Holden’s social life because he doesn’t trust anyone. Holden looks at many other people’s appearance, personality, and character. He often sees these traits to be phony or fake. Throughout the book he calls many things and people phony. When he encounters his brother’s old friend Lillian, they have a conversation only involving D.B. When Holden reveals that he is in Hollywood, Lillian is suddenly interested in talking to Holden. This also illuminates Lillian to be a phony to Holden.
“How marvelous to see you!” old Lillian Simmons said. Strictly a phony” (Salinger 86)
Even after just meeting this woman Holden is quick to put a label on her. Holden judges people even though he does not know them very well. He does not give them a chance, but makes them out to be bad people and sometimes ignores them. Holden even refers to his own brother as a prostitute, which he considers phony.
“Ernie's is this night club in Greenwich Village that my brother D.B. used to go to quite frequently before he went out to Hollywood and prostituted himself.” (Salinger 80)
I believe that this quote reveals that Holden is upset with his life and is jealous of the success that his brother, D.B. is receiving. He also can’t open up to anyone about his feelings and problems about being depressed. He blames “people” for his problems and ruining his life. This is another reason why he does not fit in with anyone.

My third point is that Holden has a hard time in life and does not take it seriously. We see this in the very fbrginning of the book, when Holden says his goodbyes to Mr. Spencer.
“Oh…well, about Life being a game and all. And how you should play it according to the rules. He was pretty nice about it. I mean he didn't hit the ceiling or anything. He just kept talking about Life being a game and all. You know.”
“Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules” (Salinger 8)
This quote shows that Holden is a rebel and with that he does not believe in playing by the rules. He believes that the non-hotshots, which includes himself, have no rules to play by because life is simply no game. Holden also proceeds to inflict harm to his body voluntarily with drinking and smoking daily.
“He didn't live on the campus. He lived on Anthony Wayne Avenue. I ran all the way to the main gate, and then I waited a second till I got my breath. I have no wind, if you want to know the truth. I'm quite a heavy smoker, for one thing--that is, I used to be.” (Salinger 5)
This shows no attentiveness towards his own health, almost as if he wants to speed up the process of his life. Holden also provoked many skirmishes with Stradlater and Maurice in which he never fought back.
“I wasn't knocked out or anything, though, because I remember looking up from the floor and seeing them both go out the door and shut it. Then I stayed on the floor a fairly long time, sort of the way I did with Stradlater. Only, this time I thought I was dying. I really did. I thought I was drowning or something. The trouble was, I could hardly breathe. When I did finally get up, I had to walk to the bathroom all doubled up and holding onto my stomach and all. But I'm crazy. I swear to God I am. About halfway to the bathroom, I sort of started pretending I had a bullet in my guts. Old 'Maurice had plugged me.” (Salinger 103)
The passage shows that Holden is now wishing for death and he really does not care about his own life. Holden’s hard time in life, with the loss of his brother and other troubles has finally affected him majorly. He has placed him self away from others and does not care what they think about him.
Holden is a lost soul and has no direction in life. He believes no one cares about what happens to him and neither does he. He is alone and by himself because he acts older than he is, has a phony mindset, and doesn’t take life seriously. Holden can’t seem to find someone to truly listen to his problems. Many people deal with this in real life and sometimes end their own life. Holden has shown signs that he could be suicidal. What if Holden was not like this?
If Holden did not have these traits, then he could possibly live a life without trouble. Overall Holden doesn’t fit in with anyone. He tries to act with many personalities but none of them workout. It just seems like he can’t see eye to eye with many people, which cripples him in the long run.